Methods, systems, and computer readable media for establishing dynamic agent associations in a cloud computing environment

ABSTRACT

One method occurs at a test system controller of a network test system implemented using at least one processor. The method includes establishing agent association criteria for a test system traffic generation agent to be deployed in a cloud computing system under test (SUT) and receiving a registration message from the test system traffic generation agent in response to a launching of the test system traffic generation agent in the cloud computing SUT. The method further includes obtaining agent property values associated with the one test system traffic generation agent from the registration message and sending test configuration data to the test system traffic generation agent in response to determining a match between the agent property values and the agent association criteria, wherein the test configuration data configures the test system traffic generation agent to operate as a predefined network segment in the cloud computing SUT.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the priority benefit of Romanian PatentApplication Serial Number a 2021 10005, filed Feb. 9, 2021, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates to cloud computing networktesting. More specifically, the subject matter relates to methods,systems, and computer readable media for establishing dynamic agentassociations in a cloud computing environment.

BACKGROUND

In many application and security testing scenarios, the presence oftraffic endpoints operating within a traffic emulation test is largelyunchanging. This network testing practice provides a reliable workingmodel for computing system platforms where the resource allocations aresimilarly static in nature. With the ever-growing use of cloud computingand cluster technologies, the use of a static testing model is rapidlybecoming obsolete. Notably, the network components that are a part of anelastic cloud computing service environment need to be able to functionwith dynamic hosts that are triggered to pop-up or terminate dependingon the load that is present on the cloud computing infrastructuresystem. In order to test such an dynamic infrastructure, the trafficgenerating hosts utilized in the system need to be emulated by testagents. However, difficulties can arise attempting to manage andcoordinate the dynamic test elements utilized by a cloud computingplatform.

Accordingly, a need exists for methods, systems, and computer readablemedia for establishing dynamic agent associations in a cloud computingenvironment.

SUMMARY

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for establishing dynamicagent associations in a cloud computing environment are disclosed.According to one method, the method occurs at a test controller of anetwork test system implemented using at least one processor. The methodincludes establishing agent association criteria for at least one testsystem traffic generation agents to be deployed in a cloud computingsystem under test (SUT) and receiving a registration message from the atleast one test system traffic generation agent in response to alaunching of the at least one test system traffic generation agent inthe cloud computing SUT. The method further includes obtaining agentproperty values associated with the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent from the registration message and sending testconfiguration data to the at least one test system traffic generationagent in response to determining a match between the agent propertyvalues and the agent association criteria, wherein the testconfiguration data configures the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent to operate as a predefined network segment in the cloudcomputing SUT.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, themethod includes at least one test system traffic generation agent thatgenerates packet traffic in the cloud computing SUT in accordance withthe test configuration data and subsequently communicates traffic metricdata to a test system controller.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, thecloud computing SUT is an cloud computing auto-scale-group or an elasticcloud computing server farm.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theat least one test system traffic generation agent is a dynamic serverhost, a dynamic client node, or a traffic generation endpoint.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theagent property values include an Internet protocol (IP) subnet, acluster or cloud computing infrastructure identifier, a geographicallocation, a cloud computing platform-specific tag, or resourceavailability data associated with the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theat least one test system traffic generation agent is launched in thecloud computing SUT before or during an active test session.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theat least one test system traffic generation agent operating as thepredefined network segment is configured to generate application packettraffic or attack packet traffic.

According to one system, the system includes a test system controller ofa network test system implemented using at least one processor. The testsystem controller is configured for: establishing agent associationcriteria for at least one test system traffic generation agents to bedeployed in a cloud computing SUT and receiving a registration messagefrom the at least one test system traffic generation agent in responseto a launching of the at least one test system traffic generation agentin the cloud computing SUT. The test system controller further includesobtaining agent property values associated with the at least one testsystem traffic generation agent from the registration message andsending test configuration data to the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent in response to determining a match between the agentproperty values and the agent association criteria, wherein the testconfiguration data configures the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent to operate as a predefined network segment in the cloudcomputing SUT.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, thesystem includes at least one test system traffic generation agent thatgenerates packet traffic in the cloud computing SUT in accordance withthe test configuration data and subsequently communicates traffic metricdata to a test system controller.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, thecloud computing SUT is an cloud computing auto-scale-group or an elasticcloud computing server farm.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theat least one test system traffic generation agent is a dynamic serverhost, a dynamic client node, or a traffic generation endpoint.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theagent property values include an Internet protocol (IP) subnet, acluster or cloud computing infrastructure identifier, a geographicallocation, a cloud computing platform-specific tag, or resourceavailability data associated with the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theat least one test system traffic generation agent is launched in thecloud computing SUT before or during an active test session.

According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, theat least one test system traffic generation agent operating as thepredefined network segment is configured to generate application packettraffic or attack packet traffic.

The subject matter described herein may be implemented in software incombination with hardware and/or firmware. For example, the subjectmatter described herein may be implemented in software executed by aprocessor. In one example implementation, the subject matter describedherein may be implemented using a non-transitory computer readablemedium having stored therein computer executable instructions that whenexecuted by the processor of a computer control the computer to performsteps. Example computer readable media suitable for implementing thesubject matter described herein include non-transitory devices, such asdisk memory devices, chip memory devices, programmable logic devices,field-programmable gate arrays, and application specific integratedcircuits. In addition, a computer readable medium that implements thesubject matter described herein may be located on a single device orcomputer platform or may be distributed across multiple devices orcomputer platforms.

As used herein, the term ‘node’ refers to a physical computer platformincluding one or more processors, network interfaces, and memory.

As used herein, each of the terms ‘function’, ‘engine’, and ‘module’refers to hardware, which may also include software and/or firmware, forimplementing the feature(s) being described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter described herein will now be explained with referenceto the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example network test system forcloud computing environment testing;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example test system controller forestablishing dynamic agent associations in a cloud computingenvironment; and

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example process for establishingdynamic agent associations in a cloud computing environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, andcomputer readable media for establishing dynamic agent associations in acloud computing environment. Such cloud computing infrastructure testingcan be useful for determining how test system traffic generation agentscan impact a dynamically changing cloud computing environment. In someembodiments, a network test system can include test system agent (e.g.,a CyPerf agent) that can be provisioned in a cloud management controller(CMC) and/or server. Notably, the CMC can be used in conjunction with atest system controller to deploy and emulate dynamic server hosts in acloud computing infrastructure, e.g., an elastic cloud server farm or acloud computing auto-scale-group, such as Amazon Web services (AWS). Inaddition to AWS, the cloud computing testing system described herein canalso utilize test system traffic generation agents for emulating dynamicpods in other architectures or clusters without departing from the scopeof the disclosed subject matter. Notably, most known testing solutionsare based on the notion that the traffic generating endpointsparticipating in the emulation test are previously known in advance(i.e., prior to the active test session). In contrast, the testconfiguration model disclosed herein does not assume that all thetraffic endpoints or test system agents are known prior to the activetesting of the cloud computing infrastructure or platform.

As indicated in further detail below, the disclosed subject matterutilizes agent association criteria that can be defined in terms ofagent property values or tags corresponding to the test system trafficgeneration agents that may be deployed in a cloud computing environmenttest. Since the traffic generation agents are not known in advance of atest session, these dynamic traffic generation agents/endpoints cannotbe associated with a test or a network segment in a test via the use ofa unique identifier (e.g., an IP address, chassis identifier, cardidentifier, port identifier, etc.). As such, the cloud computinginfrastructure testing methodology associated with the disclosed subjectmatter is configured to define a unique agent association criteria fordifferent test system traffic generation agents functioning as networksegments or portions of enterprise applications in the cloud computinginfrastructure.

For example, when random test system agents launch or are deployed in anelastic cloud computing environment, those agents are configured toattempt to register with the test system controller (e.g., send aregistration message). Notably, the test system agent will publish allof its associated agent property values and include them in theregistration message communicated to the test system controller. Afterthe registration process is completed, the test controller subsequentlyinspect all of the agent association criteria defined for all of thenetwork segments created for a test. The test system controller also maybe configured to link these agents with the appropriate networksegments. Some examples of the test system agent properties that canapply in different test configurations include: i) the IP subnetscorresponding to the agent's interfaces, ii) the cloud or cluster theagent belongs to (e.g., AWS, Azure, ESXi, Google Cloud Platform, etc.),iii) the geographical location of the agent, iv) platform specific tagsassigned to the agent (e.g., owner tag, logical grouping tag, etc.), v)resources available in the agent (e.g., number of CPU cores, amount ofmemory, AWS instance type, etc.).

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example network test system 100 fortesting cloud computing environments. As shown in FIG. 1 , network testsystem 100 includes a test system controller 102 and a cloud computingenvironment 104 (e.g., a cloud computing services infrastructure orplatform) that serves as a system under test (SUT) when subjected to anactive test session by test system controller 102. In some embodiments,test system controller 102 includes at least one processor 103 andmemory 105. For example, processor(s) 103 may include hardware basedprocessor, such as a central processing unit (e.g., a single core ormultiple processing cores), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, anetwork processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), orthe like. Likewise, memory 105 may comprise random access memory (RAM),flash memory, a magnetic disk storage drive, and the like. In someembodiments, memory 105 may be configured to store a test controllerengine 106, a definition table 110, and a network segment bindingregistry 112. In some embodiments, test controller engine 106 includes asoftware component or algorithm that, when executed by processor 103, isconfigured to conduct a test session of cloud computing environment 104.Segment binding registry 112 may include a database that containsentries of dynamic test system agents and their corresponding networkssegment assignments. Similarly, definition table 110 may include adatabase that contains entries of network segments and correspondingagent association criteria (AAC). Although FIG. 1 depicts cloudcomputing environment 104 as an off-premises cloud computing servicesplatform, on-premises deployments and/or systems can also be implementedin accordance with the disclosed subject matter. For example, cloudcomputing environment 104 can include any cluster infrastructure (e.g.,Kubernetes (k8s) clusters) and/or a lab or data-center deployment. Inaddition, cloud computing environment 104 can include managed servicesplatform, such as Kubernetes Certified Services (KCS).

As shown in FIG. 1 , cloud computing environment 104 includes aplurality of test system traffic generation agents 108 _(1 . . . N).Although three traffic generation agents are depicted in FIG. 1 , anynumber of traffic generation agents may be provisioned in cloudcomputing environment 104 without departing from the scope of thedisclosed subject matter. Cloud computing environment 104 furtherincludes a cloud management controller (CMC) 107 that is communicativelyconnected to test system traffic generation agents 108 _(1 . . . N). Insome embodiments, cloud management controller 107 is provisioned with atest system management agent that is responsible for launching and/ordeploying test system traffic generation agents during an active testsession of cloud computing environment 104.

In some embodiments, cloud computing environment 104 includes anon-demand cloud computing services environment and associatedapplication program interfaces (APIs) that enables individuals,companies, and other subscribing entities to access computing and webservices hosted in the cloud. Notably, the cloud computing serviceshosted by cloud computing environment 104 can provide subscribers anabstract technical infrastructure that includes a variety of distributedcomputing building blocks and tools. For example, cloud computingenvironment 104 may provide user access to a virtual cluster ofcomputers that are largely available all of the time via the Internet.The virtual computers hosted by cloud computing environment 104 emulatesmany attributes associated with a real computer, including hardwarecentral processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs),local/RAM memory, hard-disk/SSD storage, any one of a plurality ofoperating systems; networking functionality; and pre-loaded applicationsoftware such as web servers, databases, and customer relationshipmanagement (CRM).

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example test system controller forestablishing dynamic agent associations in a cloud computingenvironment. In some embodiments, a test controller engine 202 (e.g.,stored in memory of a test system controller 201) can be provisionedwith agent association criteria. Notably, a network operator or customersubscriber that is utilizing cloud computing environment 204 mayprovision test controller engine 202 with agent association criteriathat defines and effectively controls the manner a test system trafficagent instance is deployed in an active test session. In someembodiments, agent association criteria includes test system agentproperty values that correspond with various network segments orportions of enterprise applications that need to be provided and/ortested in cloud computing environment 204. For example, the test systemagent property values that can apply in different test configurationsinclude, but are not limited to, i) Internet protocol (IP) subnets thatare utilized by interfaces of the test system traffic generation agent,ii) the cloud or cluster the traffic generation agent is subscribed to(e.g., AWS, Azure, ESXi, Google Cloud Platform, etc.), iii) thegeographical location of the test system traffic generation agent, iv)platform specific tags assigned to the test system traffic generationagent (e.g., owner tag, logical grouping tag, etc.), v) the resourcesavailable in the test system traffic generation agent (e.g., number ofprocessing cores, amount of memory, cloud instance type, etc.), and thelike. Although FIG. 2 depicts cloud computing environment 204 as anoff-premises cloud computing services platform, on-premises deploymentsand/or systems can also be implemented in accordance with the disclosedsubject matter. For example, cloud computing environment 204 can includeany cluster infrastructure (e.g., Kubernetes (k8s) clusters) and/or alab or data-center deployment. In addition, cloud computing environment204 can include managed services platform, such as Kubernetes CertifiedServices (KCS).

Specifically, the test system agent property values that define theagent association criteria are stored as data entries in a networksegment association criteria definition table 210. In some embodiments,definition table 210 can be a database locally stored in and/oraccessible by test controller engine 202. Notably, each entry ofdefinition table 210 includes one or more test system agent propertyvalues that are mapped to a particular network segment (or enterpriseapplication portion) that can be supported in cloud computingenvironment 204. For example, definition table 210 may include a dataentry that specifies that a test system traffic generation agent that islocated in Germany will be tasked to function as a social media networksegment (or enterprise application) server in cloud computingenvironment 204.

In some embodiments, a customer subscriber and/or network operator maybe permitted to define a minimum number and/or a maximum number of testsystem traffic generation agents that can be associated with a networksegment prior to the initiation/execution of any test session of a cloudcomputing environment or platform. In particular, the customer canprovision test controller engine 202 with data defining the minimum andmaximum number limits of the traffic generation agents.

After definition table 210 in test controller engine 202 is provisionedwith all of the agent association criteria, cloud computing environment204 (i.e., operating as a SUT) may be subjected to an active testsession by test controller engine 202. For example, during the activetest session, test system traffic generation agents 208 ₁ and 208 ₂ maybe launched by cloud computing environment 204 (e.g., by a cloudmanagement controller). Notably, the test system traffic generationagents can be deployed or launched during an active test session in anumber of ways. For example, the CMC in the cloud computing environmentcan create instances of the test system traffic generation agents usingasterisk management interfaces (AMIs). Likewise, the CMC can generatevirtual machine instances using Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) files.Further, CMC can deploy test system traffic generation agents in aUbuntu instance using .deb installation files. In some embodiments, theelastic cloud computing infrastructure can be subjected to anauto-scale-group testing environment where new test system trafficgeneration agents (e.g., AWS instances) are created based on scalingparameters that are set by the customer subscribers or network operatorsof the cloud computing platform. Notably, the test system controllerdoes not directly control the generation of the traffic generationagents or instances in the cloud computing environment, but insteadfunctions in cooperation with the CMC to launch the traffic generationagents. In some embodiments, test system controller may be configured tosupport container based agent deployments, which enable the test systemtraffic generation agents to participate in similar elastic environmentsof Kubernetes (k8s) clusters.

Upon being deployed and/or created, test system traffic generationagents 206-208 are configured to determine the network address and/oridentity of test system controller 201. In some embodiments, each of thetest system traffic generation agents 208 ₁ and 208 ₂ may be configuredto use logic to read identification information corresponding to testsystem controller 201 from a local file or a cloud-based script.

Once the identification information or network address informationpertaining to test system controller 201 is determined, each of the testsystem traffic generation agents 206-208 may be configured to generate aregistration message that includes and/or publishes the agent propertyvalue data or tags (associated with that respective traffic generationagent). In particular, each of the test system traffic generation agents208 ₁ and 208 ₂ sends their respective registration message (e.g.,messages 241-242) containing the relevant agent property value data totest system controller 201.

After receiving the registration messages 241-242, test systemcontroller 201 and/or test controller engine 202 may be configured toobtain and/or extract the agent property value data from theregistration messages. For example, as shown in block 214 in FIG. 2 ,test controller engine 202 is further configured to analyze theextracted agent property value data. For example, test controller engine202 may compare the agent property value data corresponding to testsystem traffic generation agent 208 ₁ with the definition entries (i.e.,agent association criteria) in definition table 210. In particular, testcontroller engine 202 may access definition table 210 and determine if amatch between the agent property value data and any of the stored agentassociation criteria exists. If test controller engine 202 finds amatching entry (e.g., matching agent property values), then testcontroller engine 202 identifies the network segment (or an applicationportion) that is also mapped to the entry that contains the matchingagent association criteria. This process is repeated for eachregistration message received from the test system traffic generationagents (e.g., test system traffic generation agent 208 ₂) in cloudcomputing environment 204.

After establishing the links or bindings existing between the identifiednetwork segments (or portions of enterprise applications) and testsystem traffic generation agents 208 ₁ and 208 ₂, test controller engine202 records the binding information in a “test system agent-networksegment” binding registry 212. As indicated above, binding registry 212may be a database including data entries that maps deployed test systemtraffic generation agents with network segments of cloud computingenvironment 204. After recording/storing the bindings (i.e., links ornetwork segment task assignments), test system controller 201 and/ortest controller engine 202 may be configured to send test configurationdata to the test system traffic generation agents 208 ₁ and 208 ₂ viaresponse messages 243-244 In some embodiments, the test configurationdata includes information that configures a test system trafficgeneration agent to function as the assigned network segment in thecloud computing infrastructure.

In response to receiving the traffic generation configurationinstructions, the new test system traffic generation agent is configuredto execute the configuration instructions and subsequently begins togenerate the assigned network test packet traffic. In some embodiments,the test traffic may be benign application packet traffic, attack packettraffic, or both. After a predetermined time period, the test systemtraffic generation agent (as well as other traffic generation agents inthe elastic computing cloud environment that are involved in the testsession) is configured to communicate the test results and/or metricdata back to test system controller 201 and/or test controller engine202. In response, test controller engine 202 processes the test sessionresult data. For example, the test controller engine 202 can aggregatethe test results information from all of the traffic generation agentsinvolved in the session test. Further, the test controller engine 202may generate one or more test results reports for the customer.

In one exemplary scenario, in response to being configured as aparticular network segment, the test system traffic generation agentinitiates the generating of packet traffic that is specific to thenetwork segment as defined in the test configuration data. For example,the configuration data may task the test system traffic generation agentto produce social media packet traffic as if the agent were functioningas a social media network segment server. After generating theappropriate packet traffic as a social media network segment server, thetest system controller can also be configured to acquire message resultdata from the participating test system traffic generation agents.Notably, test controller engine 202 may be configured to receive themetric data captured and sent by the sending test system trafficgeneration agents. Upon receiving the metric data, test controllerengine 202 analyzes the information and generates the corresponding testresult reports. In particular, the test result reports may be directedto a network operator or customer subscriber.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example process 300 for establishingdynamic agent associations in a cloud computing environment. In someembodiments, process 300, or portions thereof, may be performed by or attest system controller 102/202, test controller engine 106/206, one ormore of dynamic test system traffic generation agents 108/208, and/oranother node). In some embodiments, process 300 may include steps302-318.

Referring to process 300, in step 302, agent association criteria for atleast one test system traffic generation agent is established. In someembodiments, a network operator or customer subscriber provisions thetest system controller with agent association criteria. As indicatedabove, the agent association criteria is defined by one or more agentproperty values. Examples of agent property values that can apply indifferent test configurations include i) IP subnets the trafficgeneration agent's interfaces are utilizing, ii) the cloud or clusterthe traffic generation agent is subscribed to (e.g., AWS, Azure, ESXi,Google Cloud Platform, etc.), iii) the geographical location of thetraffic generation agent, iv) platform specific tags assigned to thetraffic generation agent (e.g., owner tag, logical grouping tag, etc.),and v) the resources available in the traffic generation agent (e.g.,number of processing cores, amount of memory, cloud instance type,etc.). In particular, the agent association criteria is stored in adefinitions table that maps the criteria to a predefined network segmentor application that is operated in the cloud computing infrastructure.

Since the traffic generation agents are not known in advance of a testsession, these dynamic traffic generation agents/endpoints cannot beassociated with a test or a network segment in a test via the use of aunique identifier (e.g., an IP address, chassis identifier, cardidentifier, port identifier, etc.). As such, the cloud computinginfrastructure testing methodology associated with the disclosed subjectmatter is configured to define a unique agent association criteria fordifferent test system traffic generation agents functioning as networksegments or portions of applications in the cloud computinginfrastructure.

In step 304, at least one test system traffic generation agent isgenerated. In some embodiments, the cloud computing infrastructureoperates a SUT and is subjected to an active test session. During theactive test session, the cloud computing infrastructure (e.g., the CMC)launches one or more test system traffic generation agents. Upon beinglaunched or triggered, the test system traffic generation agent isconfigured to read a file or cloud-based script to determine the addressor identifier for the test system controller that is responsible forconducting the active test session. Afterwards, the test system trafficgeneration agent generates a registration message that includes theagent property values or tags associated with that particular testsystem traffic generation agent. In some embodiments, a customersubscriber or network operator may be permitted to define a minimumnumber and/or a maximum number of test system traffic generation agentsthat can be associated with a network segment prior to theinitiation/execution of any test session of a cloud computing platform.In particular, the customer can provision the test system controllerwith data indicating the minimum and maximum number limits of thetraffic generation agents.

In step 306, the test system controller receives a registration message.In some embodiments, the test system controller receives a registrationmessage containing agent property values from the sending test systemtraffic generation agent.

In step 308, the test system controller obtains test system agentproperty values from the registration message. Notably, in response toreceiving the registration message from a test system traffic generationagent in step 306, the test system controller can extract the agentproperty values from the received message for further processing. Forexample, after receiving the registration messages from the plurality oftest system traffic generation agents, the test system controller isconfigured to inspect all of the agent association criteria (and/oragent property values included in the registration messages) in thereceived registration messages. In particular, the test systemcontroller is configured to establish a link between the agent propertyvalues of the test system traffic generation agent(s) with appropriatenetwork segment(s) that have been created for the test session, whereinthe link is based on the agent association criteria (as indicated belowin step 310).

In step 310, the test system controller determines a match between theagent property values and the stored agent association criteria. In someembodiments, the test system controller utilizes the agent propertyvalues contained in the registration message to access the definitiontable. In particular, the test system controller attempts to identify amatch between the received agent property values and the stored agentassociation criteria. In the event a match is found, the test systemcontroller will obtain the network segment information that is furthermapped to the entry containing the agent association criteria in thedefinition table.

In step 312, the test system controller provides traffic generationconfiguration instructions to the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent. In some embodiments, in response to finding a match instep 310, the test system controller generates a registration responsemessage that includes test configuration instructions that will allowthe test system traffic generation agent to function as the networksegment identified by the test system controller in step 310. In someembodiments, the test system controller further records the binding orlink existing between the network segment information and the testsystem traffic generation agent in a local binding registry. Inparticular, the configuration instructions provided to the test systemtraffic generation agent(s) are associated with the agent associationcriteria stored in the definition table. As such, the configurationinstructions that are sent to the test system traffic generationagent(s) is directly related to, and provided in response to, the agentproperty values (which match the stored agent association criteria)originally received by the test system controller from the sending testsystem traffic generation agent(s).

In step 314, the test system traffic generation agent executes thetraffic generation configuration instructions. In some embodiments, thetest system traffic generation agent utilizes the configurationinstructions to begin functioning as a network segment or applicationwithin the cloud computing infrastructure during the active testsession. In particular, the test system traffic generation agent mayinitiate the generation of application packet traffic or attack packettraffic during the active test session.

In step 316, the test system controller receives test metric data fromat least one traffic generation agent. In some embodiments, the testsystem traffic generation agent sends a status update message containingtest metric data pertaining to the packet traffic generated by the testsystem traffic generation agent.

In step 318, the test system controller processes the test metric datafrom the at least one traffic generation agent. In some embodiments, thetest system controller extracts the test metric data from the statusupdate message. Notably, the test system controller subsequentlyutilizes the test metric data to generate reports for the networkoperator or customer subscriber.

In some embodiments, the at least one test system traffic generationagent generates packet traffic in the cloud computing SUT in accordancewith the test configuration data and subsequently communicates trafficmetric data to a test system controller.

In some embodiments, the cloud computing SUT is an cloud computingauto-scale-group or an elastic cloud computing server farm.

In some embodiments, the at least one test system traffic generationagent is a dynamic server host, a dynamic client node, or a trafficgeneration endpoint.

In some embodiments, the agent property values include an Internetprotocol (IP) subnet, a cluster or cloud computing infrastructureidentifier, a geographical location, a cloud computing platform-specifictag, or resource availability data associated with the at least one testsystem traffic generation agent.

In some embodiments, the at least one test system traffic generationagent is launched in the cloud computing SUT before or during an activetest session.

In some embodiments, the at least one test system traffic generationagent operating as the predefined network segment is configured togenerate application packet traffic or attack packet traffic.

It will be appreciated that process 300 is for illustrative purposes andthat different and/or additional actions may be used. It will also beappreciated that various actions described herein may occur in adifferent order or sequence.

It should be noted that test system controller 102/202, test controllerengine 106/206, test system traffic generation agents 108/208, and/orfunctionality described herein may constitute one or more specialpurpose computing devices. Further, test system controller 102/202, testcontroller engine 106/206, test system traffic generation agents108/208, and/or functionality described herein can improve thetechnological field of testing cloud computing networks with changingtopologies and related nodes by establishing associations betweendynamic test system traffic generation agents and their assigned networksegment tasks.

It will be understood that various details of the subject matterdescribed herein may be changed without departing from the scope of thesubject matter described herein. Furthermore, the foregoing descriptionis for the purpose of illustration only, and not for the purpose oflimitation, as the subject matter described herein is defined by theclaims as set forth hereinafter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for establishing dynamic agentassociations in a cloud computing environment, the method comprising: ata test system controller of a network test system implemented using atleast one processor: establishing agent association criteria for atleast one test system traffic generation agent to be deployed in a cloudcomputing system under test (SUT): receiving a registration message fromthe at least one test system traffic generation agent in response to alaunching of the at least one test system traffic generation agent inthe cloud computing SUT during an active test session of the cloudcomputing SUT, wherein the launching of the at least one test systemtraffic generation agent includes creating a virtual instance of the atleast one test system traffic generation agent during the active testsession; obtaining agent property values associated with the at leastone test system traffic generation agent from the registration message;and sending test configuration data to the at least one test systemtraffic generation agent in response to determining a match between theagent property values and the agent association criteria, wherein thetest configuration data configures the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent to operate as a predefined network segment in the cloudcomputing SUT.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one testsystem traffic generation agent generates packet traffic in the cloudcomputing SUT in accordance with the test configuration data andsubsequently communicates traffic metric data to a test systemcontroller.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the cloud computing SUT isan cloud computing auto-scale-group or an elastic cloud computing serverfarm.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one test systemtraffic generation agent is a dynamic server host, a dynamic clientnode, or a traffic generation endpoint.
 5. The method of claim 1 whereinthe agent property values include an Internet protocol (IP) subnet, acluster or cloud computing infrastructure identifier, a geographicallocation, a cloud computing platform-specific tag, or resourceavailability data associated with the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one firsttest system traffic generation agent is launched in the cloud computingSUT before the active test session.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein theat least one test system traffic generation agent operating as thepredefined network segment is configured to generate application packettraffic or attack packet traffic.
 8. A system for establishing dynamicagent associations in a cloud computing environment, the systemcomprising: at least one processor; a test system controller of anetwork test system implemented using the at least one processor,wherein the test system controller is configured for: establishing agentassociation criteria for at least one test system traffic generationagent to be deployed in a cloud computing system under test (SUT):receiving a registration message from the at least one test systemtraffic generation agent in response to a launching of the at least onetest system traffic generation agent in the cloud computing SUT duringan active test session of the cloud computing SUT, wherein the launchingof the at least one test system traffic generation agent includescreating a virtual instance of the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent during the active test session; obtaining agentproperty values associated with the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent from the registration message; and sending testconfiguration data to the at least one test system traffic generationagent in response to determining a match between the agent propertyvalues and the agent association criteria, wherein the testconfiguration data configures the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent to operate as a predefined network segment in the cloudcomputing SUT.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein the at least one testsystem traffic generation agent generates packet traffic in the cloudcomputing SUT in accordance with the test configuration data andsubsequently communicates traffic metric data to a test systemcontroller.
 10. The system of claim 8 wherein the cloud computing SUT isan cloud computing auto-scale-group or an elastic cloud computing serverfarm.
 11. The system of claim 8 wherein the at least one test systemtraffic generation agent is a dynamic server host, a dynamic clientnode, or a traffic generation endpoint.
 12. The system of claim 8wherein the agent property values include an Internet protocol (IP)subnet, a cluster or cloud computing infrastructure identifier, ageographical location, a cloud computing platform-specific tag, orresource availability data associated with the at least one test systemtraffic generation agent.
 13. The system of claim 8 wherein at least onefirst test system traffic generation agent is launched in the cloudcomputing SUT before the active test session.
 14. The system of claim 8wherein the at least one test system traffic generation agent operatingas the predefined network segment is configured to generate applicationpacket traffic or attack packet traffic.
 15. A non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored thereon executable instructions embodiedin the computer readable medium that when executed by at least oneprocessor of a network test system cause the network test system toperform steps comprising: at a test system controller of a network testsystem implemented using at least one processor: establishing agentassociation criteria for at least one test system traffic generationagent to be deployed in a cloud computing system under test (SUT):receiving a registration message from the at least one test systemtraffic generation agent in response to a launching of the at least onetest system traffic generation agent in the cloud computing SUT duringan active test session of the cloud computing SUT, wherein the launchingof the at least one test system traffic generation agent includescreating a virtual instance of the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent during the active test session; obtaining agentproperty values associated with the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent from the registration message; and sending testconfiguration data to the at least one test system traffic generationagent in response to determining a match between the agent propertyvalues and the agent association criteria, wherein the testconfiguration data configures the at least one test system trafficgeneration agent to operate as a predefined network segment in the cloudcomputing SUT.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim15 wherein the at least one test system traffic generation agentgenerates packet traffic in the cloud computing SUT in accordance withthe test configuration data and subsequently communicates traffic metricdata to a test system controller.
 17. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15 wherein the cloud computing SUT is an cloudcomputing auto-scale-group or an elastic cloud computing server farm.18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein theat least one test system traffic generation agent is a dynamic serverhost, a dynamic client node, or a traffic generation endpoint.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein the agentproperty values include an Internet protocol (IP) subnet, a cluster orcloud computing infrastructure identifier, a geographical location, acloud computing platform-specific tag, or resource availability dataassociated with the at least one test system traffic generation agent.20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 wherein atleast one first test system traffic generation agent is launched in thecloud computing SUT before the active test session.